Estimated Allied Casualties for the Invasion at Normandy?

Question

I remember reading somewhere that Eisenhower and the other generals who planned the invasion at Normandy thought the Allied deaths during the battle might be as high as 70%, and planned for that in their plans for the invasion. I cannot find where I read it, and I cannot find anything that states what their estimates were.

Do any of you history junkies remember reading similarly high numbers? If I am completely off, could you tell me what estimates you have read?

Any solid information (meaning not guesses) will be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

I lent my book about the invasion (Stephen Ambrose, my favorite historian) to someone, and right now I cannot stop thinking about the invasion. I keep thinking about Eishenhower and his staff, spending 20 hours a day in planning. I keep thinking about the Maquis waiting for the coded radio signals. I keep thinking about the weather man who watched the weather, trying to predict if it would be favorable on the days of the full moon.

I think I am going to go buy another copy right now, so I can read and stop obsessing.

Answer 1

I can't find my book by Stephen Ambrose, which is the only place I remember seeing something like that. There doesn't seem to be an answer on the internet. Everyone seems to be finding the actual casualty numbers, not the pre-invasion estimates.

My suggestion is that if you need it for a term paper or something where accuracy matters, contact the WWII museum in New Orleans. They have some excellent historians on staff and access to the most complete set of resources on the subject. They could probably find it in a matter of minutes for you and get you the proper citation.

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/about/contact.html

Answer 2

I think the first two links have the info you're looking for.

I'll include 2 other links that provide other information about D-Day. The last one is particularly interesting with the "story in photos".

One other thing: The casualty figure of 2500 that another answerer mentions refers to ONLY Omaha Beach if I am understanding things correctly, and I believe that's only US casualties (other Allied countries were involved). There were MANY more casualties than that total, and the final number depends on if you're counting only dead, dead and wounded, MIA, etc.

Answer 3

There were over 3,000 Americans killed on Omaha Beach alone. The sector with the lightest casualties was Utah Beach, with just under 200 killed. I think the overall number of Allied forces killed in action during the entire battle (Operation Overlord) is around 57,000 (3%). The Germans, around 23,000 (7%). The US Airborne rates were high, around 20%. Clearly, Ike didn't believe the projections, and, he was right.

Answer 4

2500 dead among the Allies on D-day. You have to add the thousand who died just before D-day when there was an accident during the preparations.

Imagine that 325,000 servicemen landed on the beaches in the first couple of days. It is hard to comprehend the effort and the sacrifice made.

We should pay a lot more attention to Memorial Day and June 6th (D-Day) in remembrance of this great human endeavor.

Answer 5

The 70% expected rate of casualties was the reason Eisenhower decided to begin the invasion in spite of the bad weather. It was a worst-case scenario he hoped to avoid.


Here are the actual numbers:

Country * Dead * Wounded * Missing
Germany * 30k * 80k * 210k
USA * 29k * 106k (wounded and missing)
U.K. * 11k * 54K (wounded and missing)
Canada * 5k * 13k (wounded and missing)
France * 12k (civilians dead and missing)

Answer 6

u . s .: a million,465 ineffective, 5,138 wounded, lacking or captured; uk: 2,seven-hundred ineffective, wounded or captured; Canada: 500 ineffective; 621 wounded or captured; finished:10,264 D-Day: Nazi Germany: between 4,000 and 9,000 ineffective, wounded or captured

Answer 7

80,000 wounded; 210,000 missing; 30,000 dead-Germany
29,000 killed; 106,000 wounded/missing - USA
54,000 wounded/missing - United Kingdom

Answer 8

try wikepedia they might have the answers you are looking for . sorry I myself could not help but maybe wikepedia can help .